Breakdown of Mijn been is wat stijf sinds de wedstrijd.
zijn
to be
mijn
my
de wedstrijd
the match / the game
wat
something / some (a little)
het been
the leg
sinds
since
stijf
stiff
Questions & Answers about Mijn been is wat stijf sinds de wedstrijd.
I know wat usually means "what" or "some". How does it work here?
In this sentence, wat is used as an adverb modifying the adjective stijf (stiff). When placed right before an adjective, wat tones down the meaning, translating to "somewhat", "a bit", or "a little". It makes the statement sound slightly less intense.
Could I use een beetje instead of wat in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! You could say Mijn been is een beetje stijf. Both wat and een beetje mean "a little" or "somewhat" in this context and are interchangeable. Wat is just slightly quicker to say and very common in everyday spoken Dutch.
The English translation says "has been", but the Dutch sentence uses the present tense is. Why?
In Dutch, if a state started in the past and continues into the present, you use the present tense. Because the leg is still stiff right now, and the sentence uses sinds (since) to show when it started, Dutch simply uses the present tense is. English requires the present perfect "has been" for this, which often trips up English speakers!
Is wedstrijd the word for any kind of match?
Wedstrijd is the general word for a sports match, game, or competition. If you are looking for the kind of match you use to light a candle, that is a completely different word in Dutch: lucifer.
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